


Percy Needs a Hug (and so does Jason)

by jaredlearnedtoread



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, No Smut, One Shot, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 07:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23008066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaredlearnedtoread/pseuds/jaredlearnedtoread
Summary: Percy can’t sleep; neither can Jason.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Percy Jackson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 196





	Percy Needs a Hug (and so does Jason)

A harsh crack and a bright flash of light jolted Percy out of his nightmare. He sat up, covered in greasy droplets of cold sweat. He had kicked his blankets onto the floor during the fitful sleep, leaving him shivering in only his boxers. Rain was pounding down outside, and Percy could hear the small droplets pattering against the cabin. 

He forced himself to take a long, shuddering breath, then stood up and walked over to the fountain still streaming water despite the weather outside. Percy splashed the water on his face with shaking hands, trying not to hyperventilate.

It wasn’t like he ever really got good dreams, but he could handle the prophecies and the visions. Those were exhausting, but he still got sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of those nights. It was a night where he saw Tartarus. When he saw every terrible detail over and over again until he woke up in cold sweat. It was a night where he would jerk towards every sound with terror written on his face, slashing at the air until exhaustion took over and he was slumped in a corner, shielding himself with Riptide until the first rays of dawn poked through the window. 

Percy picked his pen up from off the fountain ledge, jumping when the thunder sounded again. He uncapped it, holding the sword defensively in front of himself. Another wave of thunder rolled through, and it scared Percy so much he swung blindly, hitting the fountain with an ugly metallic clang. The fountain stayed solid, but Percy fell over, dropping Riptide in favor of trying to grab something for support. Eventually, he just drew his knees to his chest and waited with his hands over his ears for the next boom of thunder.

Instead, the door creaked open. Jason stuck his head through, looking thoroughly soaked from the rain. “Hey.” He said, giving a small wave. “I heard uh, some noise and just wanted to…” Jason trailed off, stepping inside instead of finishing his thought. Percy stayed where he was, but gave a thumbs-up. Jason eyed Riptide on the floor, and carefully stepped over it as he walked over to Percy and sat down against the fountain next to him. 

Jason’s pajama bottoms were muddy despite being rolled up, and his wet hair dripped onto the hastily shoved on, inside-out Camp Half-blood t-shirt. He’d run over as soon as he’d heard the crash of metal, thankful for the distraction from trying to fall back to sleep. 

Percy looked terrible. He had given Jason a shaky thumbs up, refusing to meet his eyes. Jason knew what that meant, he had seen it before, felt it before, on his own. He wasn’t going to leave Percy now, not when he most needed support. 

Jason moved to sit in front of him. “Look at me. You’re clearly not ok. What happened?” Percy finally looked up, only meeting Jason’s eyes for a brief moment before he glanced past him. 

“I’m fine. Go back to your cabin, I just thought a shadow was something else.” Percy responded, nodding at the sword. Jason knew it was a lie, but he let it pass. He tentatively helped Percy up, leading him back to the only used bed in the cabin. “Try to fall back asleep, I’ll see if I can stop the lighting, the climate control has been weird lately.” He said, picking the blankets off the floor. 

When Jason left, it was like a small hole had reopened in his chest. He felt guilty for not talking, barely being able to talk. He slept without dreams for the rest of the night, and woke up exhausted.   
.  
.  
.  
The next night wasn’t much better. Jason was apparently a light sleeper, and the previous sleepless nights were starting to wear Percy down. He had cut a chunk out of one of the beds, and nearly himself several times. He didn’t make too much noise, but Jason always seemed to have heard him. This time Percy had stolen a knife from training earlier. If he used a knife, he could be quieter, right? It wasn’t Jason’s problem that he couldn’t sleep, the least he could do was keep quiet about being awake. 

Percy’s theory proved wrong when he slipped on the covers littering the floor, stabbed the ground through the blankets, and cut himself in the process. Jason came in a few minutes later and wordlessly yanked the knife from out of the ground.   
“Percy.” He sighed, tossing the knife to the side and laying against the bed frame. Jason looked like he was going to say something, but held back. 

Percy could see him from his spot on the floor, and a wave of guilt passed through him as he noticed the prominent bags starting to form under Jason’s eyes. He pulled himself up and sat next to Jason. “I’m sorry.” Percy mumbled. It surprised Jason, seeming to echo loudly in the deathly silent cabin. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. “...it’s nightmares.” Percy said, answering the question that had been silently looming over the two. 

“Every time I close my eyes I see Tartarus again.”   
Jason nodded. “I can never fall asleep. Every time I do, I jolt back awake afraid another monster is going to be there.”   
Jason seemed embarrassed, and got up to leave after a few more minutes.   
“Wait!” Percy said, slowly pushing himself up and towards the other demi-god. Jason turned back to give him a questioning look. “What?” He said, wincing at the defensive tone. Percy hesitated. “Never mind.”  
Jason left, leaving the cabin in silence once again.   
.  
.  
.  
Jason didn’t show up the next night. He was as restless as ever, tossing and turning the whole time, only managing to get a few minutes of sleep before paranoia scared him back awake. Jason felt bad about avoiding the Poseidon cabin, but it wasn’t his job to take care of Percy. On the second night, he couldn’t sleep a wink. He felt bad all over, though he wasn’t physically hurt. There was no adrenaline to fuel him through this night, and instead he just slumped against the wall with his blanket lazily pulled over him. The Zeus statue sat in the back of the cabin, staring towards him uncomfortably. Zeus’s eyes bore into him until he couldn’t take it anymore, and nearly ran out of his cabin to get to Percy’s.

Percy flinched at the loud, rattling bang that left as quickly as it came when Jason slammed open his door and rushed in, leaving it to close with a soft thump. He was in the corner of the room this time, and hadn’t bothered to even pick up Riptide, opting instead to leave it on his bed. Percy looked up questioningly, ignoring the wave of relief at finally seeing Jason again. “Hey.” He mumbled as Jason panted, trying to catch his breath from the short but unexpected run. “Hey.” He managed between breaths. 

Percy stood up, and wrapped his arms around Jason, burying his face in his chest. Percy should’ve done this days ago, maybe the first night Jason had stumbled in, but he had been too anxious to even move.   
Jason returned the hug. “M’sorry.” He whispered into the shorter demi-god’s hair.   
“I should’ve come earlier.” 

Eventually they broke apart, and Percy pulled Jason into the bed with him, throwing blankets over the two. Jason was too tired to be embarrassed, and simply took the chance to turn over and wrap his arms around Percy again, this time spooning him.   
.  
.  
.  
Percy woke up well rested, leaning into the warmth behind him. He could feel Jason’s light breathing on his shoulder, barely tickling him. Percy shifted to try and get out, but Jason unconsciously pulled him back, and struggled to escape. 

Jason woke up when he no longer had something to hold onto, groggily staring at the empty space next to him. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, looking around. 

Sunlight shone through the pale curtains, leaving warped spots of light on the floor. Jason could hear the sounds of morning outside, birds singing and the faint sound of campers in the distance. But there was something else too, like a stream. He glanced towards the noise. Right, the fountain; Jason had forgotten he was in the Poseidon cabin. At that moment, Percy came back. “Sorry, my bladder was killing me.” He explained, looking away guiltily. 

Jason nodded and stood up to stretch. He felt naked in his pajamas next to Percy, who was now fully dressed. “Good morning.” He said cheerily, then gave Percy a quick hug and walked back to his cabin. 

Percy had slept. Not a lot, but more than he had in awhile. And Jason had slept with him. He turned red at the implication, but was grateful for the sleep. Maybe, they could do it again?

**Author's Note:**

> FUCK.   
> Thanks for reading!  
> <3


End file.
